Gould, U.S. Women's MTB Team ranked number one in the world

Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 21, 2007)—The United States and Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho/Luna) are ranked number one in the world in the Olympic-style cross country discipline according to the latest edition of the international mountain bike rankings released Monday by the UCI.

Backed by a sweep of the podium at the recent Continental Mountain Bike Championships in Nequen, Argentina, the women’s mountain bike program is ranked number one in the world with 470 points ahead of New Zealand (321) and Chile (285).Gould’s Pan American title yielded 200 points as the current USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Champion tops the individual standings ahead of countrywoman Mary McConneloug (150) (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven) and Maja Wloszczowska (140) of Poland.

In the men’s standings, the United States is ranked third as a country with 330 points behind Canada (470) and Italy (414).Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./GT-Hyundai) is the top American in the individual standings, ranked fourth with 130 points.

International ranking points are the primary factor in determining how many start positions a country receives at the 2008 Olympic Games. Nations ranked in the top five can send a maximum of three men to the Games, while a top-four ranking in the women’s standings results in the maximum of two starts. A nation’s ranking is determined by a combination of 2006 and 2007 rankings.

At the end of 2006, the United States was ranked fourth in the men’s standings and sixth in the women’s standings. UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike RankingsAs of 3/20/07

This Article Published March 21, 2007
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